CUE programs to 'challenge student apathy'

On a campus that takes pride in the diversity of its students, the CommUNITY Education program strives to unite residential communities and create a welcoming environment.\nAssistant Director for Diversity Education Barry Magee said CUE works to foster education in the residence halls about diversity issues facing students.\nFollowing this year's theme, "Bridge the Gap," Foster Quad has formed a diversity council to provide additional programs and address diversity issues.\nSophomore Jaret Fishman, a community educator at Foster Quad, said there are about 15 active members on the council, a group which he said brings a sense of caring to IU.\n"We as a program would like to extend (diversity councils) across campus," Fishman said. "We try to challenge apathy. There is lots of apathy to diversity as a whole."\nDaisy Rodriguez, a campus diversity education specialist, said McNutt Quad presented a program to educate individuals about the treatment of women in Afghanistan.\n"Our staff is committed to providing learning opportunities that allow residents to gain greater exposure to the community and world in which they live," Rodriguez said. \nMagee said one of the main objectives is working more closely with faculty. Educators are required to involve faculty in at least two programs each semester and receive in-service training about how to do so, Magee said. \nMagee said CUE staff members often involve students when making programming decisions.\n"There is good turnout when a meeting meets students' needs and desires," Magee said.\nBut good turnout is not the secret of program success.\n"If it doesn't start a conversation, it is not successful," Magee said. "Our goal is to challenge people to learn something, to get people talking."\nRodriguez said the program works to address re-occurring issues.\n"If homophobic graffiti appears on dry erase boards week after week, some sort of program should occur to address this issue," Rodriguez said. \nMany programs conclude with a reflection, during which students write what they have learned, she explained.\n"The reflection forms allow students to share new learnings and ponder how this program may affect how they interact with one another," Rodriguez said.\nShe said this helps the educators to see how effective their programming is for students and assist in the creation of quality programs.\nIn one program, educators created a wall of hate and wrote words that had appeared on many students' doors that had been reported to the anti-harassment office.\n"Some students were appalled by the comments and others baffled that such remarks could be made on a campus of higher learning," Rodriguez commented.\nThe CUE program sponsors many campus events, such as the National Day of Silence and recently the James Cameron program in the Willkie Auditorium, according to its Web site. Although most programs are located within the residence centers, they are not exclusive to dorm residents.\n"Diversity education needs to be something that we are all talking about on campus," Magee said.